Ed Balls says Strictly Come Dancing is good for politicians because it proves they’re ‘human beings’

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Ed Balls has admitted that going on Strictly Come Dancing is ‘good for politics’ because it shows the British public that politicians are ‘human beings’.

The former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer has become a fan favourite on the BBC One show thanks to his crowd-pleasing performances of the Charleston and Samba, and speaking on This Morning on Wednesday, Ed said: ‘It’s hard when people say, “we knew you were a politician but it’s great see you’re a human being as well” because politicians are human beings, they have families, they try, sometimes they make mistakes.

‘I think the reaction of some of my colleagues in parliament is to say, “it’s really good for politics to see somebody who is out there, doing something hard out of his comfort zone.”‘

No kidding…

Presenter Phillip Schofield then suggested that ‘the most interesting politicians are the ones no longer in the house of commons’ (ouch) but Ed agreed, adding: ‘What people see is “politician” and that gets in the way of everything.

‘So maybe the prism changes and people think, “we’re seeing something different, what is this?” and it’s good for people to see politicians are human beings.’

Ed also revealed that his wife Yvette Cooper was pleased that he was still in the competition because he continues to lose weight – one of the reasons Yvette wanted him to take party.

‘When I was asked in the spring I thought I was going to say no but Yvette said, “how could you live with yourself if you said no, to learning to dance, losing weight, having a great time on this fabulous show?”,’ joked Ed.